Should Gas Station Pay For Damage From Pumping Water Into Customer’s Car?

Do you check to make sure that you’re really pumping gasoline into your car, and not some other substance? Most likely not. More than a dozen motorists in New Jersey bought gas that turned out to be water. This did some damage to the fuel systems of their cars. Who is responsible for paying for repairs? The station owner says that he shouldn’t have to pay one victim’s high repair costs. She disagrees.

This customer happened to have a nearly-empty gas tank and a nearly-new car when she pulled up to the Citgo station for a nice, normal fill-up. When her car died, she learned that the tank was full of water. According to the Mazda dealership’s service department, her car needs its fuel pumps and injectors replaced at a cost of $3,000.

The station owner found this amount unreasonable. “Any auto expert can explain that in a case of bad gas replacement of parts is not required,” he told the customer in an e-mail. Naturally, instead of towing the car to a mechanic for a second opinion or suing each other in small claims court, the station owner and the customer are fighting this out in the court of broadcast news.

In order to avoid a violation issued by the local Department of Weights and Measures, the station owner must reimburse all affected customers for the cost of their repairs. He does accept the blame for the bad fuel delivery and damage to customers’ cars, and he has paid for repairs to all vehicles except this one. He accepts the blame, but doesn’t want to accept this huge bill.